"I believe in fate…" Beth continued.

Daryl looked at her again intently.

"We were put together for a reason." Beth said as she smiled and snatched the bottle back and finished the last of the liquor off.

Daryl sat looking at in awe, and confusion. He didn't believe in that kind of shit usually, but as Beth was saying it, he wanted to believe it. He wanted to believe that it was fate that brought them together. Beth sat looking into Daryl's stormy blue eyes and in the moment with the alcohol flooding her system, she did something neither of them really expected…

She kissed him.

Once again getting drunk together had proven to be a bad idea.

The kiss was sloppy and drunken and she didn't really realized what she was doing until it was happening, and it was over just as soon as it started.

Daryl pulled back, his eyes glossy and wide staring at her like she had grown a third head. He didn't say anything, Daryl honestly thought even if he tried nothing would come out. What the hell had just happened? Beth stared back at him with equal shock; she really hadn't understood what she had just done. She couldn't think straight, a small part of her wanted to do it again. The small part was telling that she liked it and she wanted more of him, but the larger part was screaming at her that she just did something very stupid. That it was going to make everything fall apart, and weird. And that this good thing they had going on at the cabin where they were comfortable and had started to build a semi-normal lifestyle probably just went away.

A few more moments went by where neither one of them said anything. Honestly Beth thought she had never seen Daryl this terrified. Suddenly he stood, swiftly grabbing his bow and out the door into the cold night.

Beth buried her face into her hands before rubbing her face furiously. What the hell did she just do? He's was probably never going to come back. She wouldn't blame him. She knew better, she couldn't just kiss Daryl? Beth tried standing so she could flee to the upstairs; she hadn't realized the extent of her intoxication until she stumbled, falling onto the ground. She let out a small yelp as her knee landed on a slightly raised nail from one of the floorboards. She sat back leaning her back against the side of the bed pulling her knee up to her chest to inspect it. It had broken the skin on her knee where her jeans had a hole in them. It wasn't bleeding too profusely, so she ignored it. In her drunkenness, it didn't even really hurt.

The teenage girl in Beth wanted to just go upstairs and hide and never resurface ever again, but the adult in her 'the woman' she claimed she so much was, knew she needed to fix things. Apologize to him for being so brazen, and make sure that things wouldn't be awkward.

So she waited… And waited. Then waited some more. Beth swore she could see the earliest light of dawn creeping into the sky through the window, before she drifted off.

Daryl walked aimlessly for at least a half an hour until he came a crossed about five walkers snapping him out of his current state. His head was spinning. It was dark and honestly he had no idea what he was doing, or where he was even trying to go. He tried to understand what had just happened, but he didn't want to. Why had she kissed him? What was she trying to do? He collapsed against a tree rubbing his eyes roughly and groaned. He didn't know how long he sat there doing nothing until finally rising to his feet and trying to find his way back to the cabin. He couldn't just leave her there, he knew that. Maybe if he just pretended it didn't happen, she would just pretend it didn't either. That was the problem though; Daryl didn't think he could forget even if he tried. That's what he had been doing, trying to think of anything but Beth's lips on his, but that's all that he could think of. He inwardly groaned.

Daryl eventually made his way back to the cabin, after doing some back tracking of his own footprints. He really hadn't watched where he had been going earlier, which was foolish. It was just nearing dawn as he quietly made his way into the cabin. The candles had burned out completely, and he didn't see Beth anywhere. He figured she was upstairs sleeping; at least he could avoid it for a few more hours and get some sleep himself. Daryl slowly made his way over to his bed kicking off his boots, but before he could lie down he caught sight of her feet sticking out from the edge of bed.

Initially he panicked because she was on the floor. How stupid could he be, he left her there alone and something happened? He quickly made his way to her side, checking her over. She was fine though, her breathing was normal and she looked untouched aside from her hair and clothes in disarray. She must have passed out…

Daryl made a small frown to himself, before carefully taking her into his arms. She didn't even budge, she was out cold. She probably needed a limit when it came to alcohol. Daryl carried her upstairs and placed her in her bed, putting the covers over her. He was out of breath by the time she was tucked in soundly.

Daryl made his way back to his bed downstairs again and flopped down, not even bothering to pull the covers back. He was asleep before even hitting them.

Slowly Beth awoke to bright sunlight offending her eyes, and a pounding headache. Flinging her blankets over her face she tried to piece together where she was and what was going on. That's when she remembered and quickly sat up in bed listening for any life down below. The drunken memories of last night all rushed in at once. She couldn't remember how she had ended up in her bed though? Last thing she remembered was waiting for Daryl and then nothing, the rest was blank. Beth heard the loud clanking of a pot from downstairs, confirming that Daryl was there…And eventually she was going to have to face the music…

Daryl internally cursed himself as he knocked the pot off the counter; thankfully he hadn't put the canned soup he was going to heat up in it yet. It was late morning he figured and he had been doing so well at being silent just so maybe Beth would stay asleep a little longer. He knew he was going to have to face her, he couldn't avoid it forever and he knew that. But now, due to his idiocy and clumsiness (which he never usually was) had probably just woke her up. His nerves felt more frazzled than ever, as he knew she would probably be coming down the stairs any minute. But then another thought went through his head that scared him even more… What if she didn't come down? What if she just stayed up there, and he would have to be the one to seek her out. God why was this happening to him? He didn't do this kind of thing; he didn't get all bent out of shape because of a simple drunken kiss from some girl. That was exactly the problem though…It wasn't just 'some girl' it was Beth.

Beth sat at the end of the bed twiddling her fingers together trying to think of what she was going to say to Daryl. Nothing was coming to mind though; she didn't know what to do. Should she just tell him, that she had too much to drink and wasn't thinking clearly? She couldn't though; because that's not why she had done it. She had done it because lately she couldn't stop thinking about Daryl. Beth had begun to develop true feelings for him; she had kissed him because she wanted to feel closer to him. It was only with the help of the alcohol that had given her the courage to do so. If she told him that though, it just might make things worse. Another part of her just wanted to pretend that she had gotten so smashed that she didn't remember a damn thing about last night and just pretend everything was fine. She couldn't though, she didn't want to. Beth was a truthful person, and she liked to wear her heart on her sleeve. She wasn't going to lie to him about how she felt. She couldn't.

Daryl waited for what seemed like an eternity looking between the soup he was cooking over the stove and the staircase that led to where Beth was. He kept waiting to hear her coming down the steps, but he didn't. Either she was still asleep, which was unlikely, or she was just avoiding the situation like he wanted to. Daryl rolled his eyes to himself suddenly wishing he had a god damned loft to hide away in…

Beth changed out of her clothes from yesterday, and into some clean ones and re-pulling her hair up into a ponytail. Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the stairs. Maybe if she just went for it, she couldn't think about it. Just like jumping into a freezing lake, or swallowing disgusting cough medicine. Quick and without thinking about it.

Daryl heard her before he saw her, and now he was terrified. He stared into the pot suddenly finding the probably artificial yet real looking vegetables in his soup very interesting. He knew she was down the stairs just standing at the end of them, but he refused to look. He caught sight of her out of his peripheral as she walked behind him and into the kitchen.

"Morning." Her voice was quiet and small sounding.

"Mornin." Daryl replied a little too quickly for his own liking.

Beth stood in the kitchen grabbing a can of pears glancing at Daryl as she tapped on the lid of the can, not really knowing how to start talking to him.

Daryl's soup was heated and he was now going to have to go into the kitchen where Beth was… He sighed. Before he could start to move though she spoke again.

"What time did you come back?" Beth asked as she still fiddled with the can in her hands, she had no intentions of even opening it really. She didn't really have an appetite at the moment; it was just giving her something to do with her hands so she didn't look like she was just awkwardly standing there. To be honest it didn't even really matter what time he had come back, she was just avoiding what really needed to be discussed.

Daryl shrugged still without looking at her.

"It was late." He said lamely.

Finally Beth reminded herself that she just needed to say it. Just get it over with and tell him how she felt, they were stuck together and there was no sense in beating around the bush.

"Look I'm not gonna apologize for what happened last night, because I'm not sorry. I wanted to kiss you; the only thing I am sorry about is if it made you uncomfortable, that wasn't my intention." Beth said it quickly afraid that if she didn't it wouldn't come out at all.

Daryl finally turned to look at her, shock in his features at her words.

"Beth ya don't know what it is ya want…"

Beth stared at him for a few moments. Instantly having frustration take over her.

"Yes I do." Beth said simply yet firmly.

Daryl saw the glimmer of anger in her eye; he knew he shouldn't try to tell her how to feel. If there's anything he had discovered about Beth Greene was that she was stubborn much like himself, and didn't like to be told what to do. He knew what she was telling him now wasn't a new revelation; he had read the small passage in her journal. He knew she had feelings for him but he didn't want to believe it was real. He wasn't ready for this though, he didn't want her to tell him that she wanted to kiss him. Girls like Beth didn't get with guys like him. Daryl knew the only way she would drop it, is if he flat out rejected her. (And he knew that was cruel, and terrible. But he was probably going to hell anyway, so why not right?)

"Nah. I aint got time for your schoolgirl crush on me…" Daryl barked out and turned back to stir the soup on the stove.

Beth's blood instantly started to boil; she knew exactly what he was trying to do. Despite the fact she knew that what he was doing was intentional, and over the years he had probably only used the skill multiple times so he could protect himself from further hurt or conflict, it still made her angry. He was being an ass on purpose, that way he didn't have to deal with his or her emotions. Not this time though she wasn't going to let him push her out. Beth stomped her way over closer to him.

"Nope. You're not going to do this. I'm talking to you about something real. Something I'm serious about…" She spoke with true conviction.

"Beth stop." Daryl replied curtly. He prayed she's just let it go, he didn't want to go further.

"No! I'm not gonna let you bully me into just forgetting how I feel. And I know you have to feel something too…"

"And I know you like to shut people out, that way you don't get burned. But Daryl… what I did was real. I did it because I wanted to. Because I care about you. " She continues.

It sounded lame but she didn't know how else to put it. Her feelings for Daryl were far more intimate than just a kiss, or just saying she cared. She felt it in her bones, in every nerve of her body; she had this need for him. The feeling of wanting to know him, every part of him. This attraction she couldn't explain because it wasn't based off of his looks, it was just this pull.

Daryl stares at her processing her words; he knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say how he would do anything in this world to protect her; how he wants to protect her from this world and all its bullshit. He'd gladly walk through hell and back for her. He wants to tell her that she's made him feel things that he didn't even know you could feel. He wants to tell her that she makes him better… But he doesn't because despite her making him better, he's still scared and damaged. And he has been burned, one too many times. So he doesn't say those things to her even though she's a good person, and everything she just said makes him feel like he's walking on the moon and she deserves to hear how incredible she is in his eyes. He chooses to do what he's done his entire life, what he's done to survive. He protects himself from further hurt, which usually always happens in the long run anyway. He's selfish and he protects himself by hurting her.

"Well that's too bad you feel that way, cause it aint never gonna happen. Stare at me with yer damn googly eyes all ya want! I aint never gonna look at ya like that and never have, yer just a dumb kid!" He barked at her.

Ouch.

That one stung. Beth recoiled from him, takin a few steps back like he had struck her. Waves of hurt washed over her. He sounded so serious, so harsh; she didn't know whether to believe what he was saying was truthful or if he did it to just scare her off. Either way it still hurt.

Daryl saw the shift in her eyes as she backed down. She was hurting, which was his goal but that doesn't mean he feels any better about it. He stares back at her. He had just made everything worse, yet he doesn't try to say anything else as she turns away from him and quickly makes her way back upstairs.

Beth went upstairs sinking down to the floor by her bed, keeping her tears at bay. She would not cry. She wasn't going to cry over him. So instead she grabs her journal from the nightstand and begins writing.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hours went by as Daryl did unproductive tasks, he kept waiting for Beth to come back downstairs but she never did. It was almost dark out now, and Daryl had only felt like shit more and more as the day went on. He knew Beth hadn't eaten all day either, which only made him feel worse. He had been such a dick to her, and said things he didn't mean. She was literally all he had left, and of course he had to fuck that up too.

It was time to buck up Dixon. Go up there and apologize, be a fucking man.

Beth heard him coming up the stairs; she knew he was making himself known on purpose. He was always quiet on his feet; you'd never hear him coming usually. She was laying down facing the window, hoping she would just fall asleep early. She heard the footsteps stop, she knew he was standing there probably just looking at her; maybe he'd think she was asleep and just go away. He made it clear; he didn't feel that way about her so why was he even here?

A few more moments went by where the room was dead silent. Neither of them even bothering to speak. Then she heard him shuffling around, and then it was quiet again. Beth sat up turning to look at him. He had situation himself on the ground with his back against the wall with his head back and eyes closed. She stared blankly at him for a few minutes.

"What are you doing?" Beth finally speaks, but her voice is cold and emotionless.

He finally opens his eyes looking at her sheepishly.

"M'sorry." His voice is gravely and hoarse from not speaking for hours.

"For what? Don't apologize for how you feel Daryl, I surely didn't." Again her voice is cold.

Daryl sighs looking to his fiddling hands that rest on his knees.

"I didn't mean it Beth." He says bringing his eyes back to hers.

"I'm just supposed to believe you?" The pain still evident in her eyes.

"I'm here aint I…" Daryl replies, not really knowing what else he could say.

Silence fills the room once again as they look at each other.

"So what now?" Beth asks still unsure of what it is he's trying to get a crossed to her.

Daryl shrugs slightly looking to his knees sheepishly again.

"I just- Ya just gotta be patient with me…" Daryl says quietly.

And there it is. He's putting it out there for her. He's not denying nor accepting that he has the same feelings for her, but he's there. That's what counts right? He's trying.

Beth looks to him reading his face, and for a few moments she doesn't attempt to say anything. He becomes slightly self-conscious under her gaze and shifts uncomfortably. She's still looking at him with a blank face when she answers.

"Okay…"

"I can do that." She finishes offering him a small smile.

And he believes her. She's looking at him with such patience he nearly chokes. She forgives him just like that. She takes him back, despite what a dick he's been to her and all the bullshit that comes along with him. But that's who she is; she's patient and devoted, and compassionate. She's Beth Greene, and he knows that she would wait forever for someone she cares about. That makes him breathe a little easier.

He knows that too… He knows she cares, and he cares for her too. And even though he's not willing to stand on a rooftop and shout it to the whole world, he does. He cares so much about the girl in front of him. He also has the sense that even though he can't express it to her, she already knows. That's enough for her right now…to just know that he does and that they can go from there.

A/N Hopefully you guys enjoyed it. I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter, because they're getting to the point where they're trying to figure it out. How they feel, and why they feel that way. Sorry if some of you were looking forward to things turning up, but you know Daryl…In a way they did turn up though ya know? He's becoming more vulnerable, and he's putting himself out there. Please review, and thank you for all your support! xx.